DOI: 10.7763/IPEDR. 2014. V72. 3

‘New Linguistic World Order’ and ‘Alternative Socio-linguistics’

Shailendra Kumar Singh

Department of Linguistics, North Eastern Hill University, Shillong, Meghalaya (India)

Abstract. The paper proposes the modest model of ‘New Linguistic World Order’. In particular, the paper

tries to highlight advantages that ‘alternative sociolinguistics’ will have over the existing sociolinguistics

based on the present sociolinguistic realities. It also addresses this problem by proposing the idea of

‘alternative sociolinguistics’ as a part of solution in rescuing sociolinguistics from a sign of inadequacy,

inefficiency, unpopularity, sheer laziness – or, even from plain bad luck. With ‘alternative sociolinguistics’, it

will enormously be easier to deal with emerging linguistic circumstances which are not akin to the decent

linguistic life in the West.

Keywords: New Linguistic World Order, Power Shift and Alternative Sociolinguistics etc.

1. Introduction

There is no denying the fact that the existing sociolinguistic model, especially with the rise of ‘new

linguistic world order’, has become woefully inadequate. This in turn is necessitating withdrawal of the

western ownership on sociolinguistics to avoid further theoretical congestion. This will not only scrub out

theoretical deficits sociolinguistics incur in today’s world – in fact, it will even transform linguistics into

efficient multidisciplinary by adding up new visibility in preview of new trends. Exploring ‘Alternative

Sociolinguistics’ is not just the right thing to do it, it is also smart thing to be done by alternative west –

obviously, not so much in the name of resistance to western sociolinguistic theories; but more importantly,

safeguarding sociolinguistics from becoming more venerable in the emergence of New Linguistic World

Order. The ‘New Linguistic World Order’ appears to be a site of seemingly unprecedented linguistic

reshuffling where in the West is reduced to the dark side and the alternative- West is privileged with positive

side. From here linguists can begin with dissenting voices against Old Linguistic World Order that the West

had nurtured over the centuries. Opposite the direction, there is an absolute fear from the corner that one may

still consider the new order arbitrary. Such an attempt would be an example of moral deficit of international

community as the idea of ‘New Linguistic World Order’ stresses desirable and justified linguistic direction

for which the situation is neither beyond reach nor beyond remedy. The debate on the issue must be

welcomed as long as the present order belongs to everyone and the credit for the same goes to everyone.

2. Towards Visualizing the Shifts: What Can We Learn?

The consequences of demographic strength, military power, economic prosperity, political control and

cultural superiority have not only benefited languages in the past – but have also shaped and altered the

destiny of languages. Patnaik and Husnain (2006) have rightly said that “the fate of languages throughout

human history has been predicted upon political power relations”. Fishman (2001:2) has gone at the forefront

stating that “historically, languages have risen and fallen with military, economic, cultural, or religious

powers that supported them”. History also tells us that in the past due to deficiencies of these factors the

world’s influential languages have either sharply declined or have even become dead. It is worth noting here

that these factors have escorted languages to supremacy either by superseding or outlasting the other

languages: Greek during Alexander the Great, Latin during the Roman Empire, Arabic during the Islamic

expansion, French, English, Spanish during conquest and colonization and Turkish in the Ottoman Empire.

What can be stated with some confidence at this stage is that trends of growth and decay – including, societal,

national, continental, intercontinental and global transitions - of the following languages have at least been

spurred by the similar factors:

Corresponding Author. Tel: +91 9863279254

E-mail: tosksinghnehu@gmail.com 10

Fig. 1: Growth and decay of languages and empires

All of them can affect and alter any language in the world, anywhere. The question is: Are all of them

still compelling factors in shaping and altering the fate of languages? Considering the temperament of 21st

century, Ostler (2005) has rightly suggested that military factor will become redundant in the present century

and will be replaced by technological and political factors. More importantly, on the other hand, Graddol

(2006) prioritizes demographic factor in shaping up the languages with emphasis on global post-modern

multilingualism.

Today we find ourselves in extraordinary situations. Why is this so? Prior to 21st century the West was

the mover and shaker who crafted policies and tailored agenda for the rest – but that was then and this is not

the case today anymore and anywhere. Something like this did not happen in past – that is, the present

paradigm shift is dissimilar to any mega shifts that have occurred so far in the socio-political history of world.

No less important is the need to realize on the positive side that 21st century is an era of great transformations

and the world has changed owing to power shift, social-psychological shift, demographic shift and

technological shift. Perhaps, it is sufficient to add that the ground realities that make a case for visualizing

‘New Linguistic World Order’ include these shifts, as shown in the diagram, which are no longer stray

instances and chipping in with priceless contributions:

Fig. 2: Possible Shifts

•Rise and fall of Greek Empire and Greek Language (336 BC to 146 BC)

•Rise and fall of Roman Empire and Latin language - (1st BC to 476 A.D)

• Dark Age of Europe

European Empires

• The rise of Islam (6 AD)

•Rise of Islamic empire

• Encounter with west and rest

•Rise of Arabic

Islamic Empire •Rise of western nations

•Western renainance

• Rise of National languages

• Rise of western imperialism and imperial languages

• Rise of Superpower

•Rise of influential and global languages

Western Empire

Linguistic Shift

Social psychological

Shift

Technological Shift

Demographic Shift

Power Shift

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What is equally clear is that linguistic shift is no longer an isolated development – rather, stimulated by

power, social-psychological, technological and demographic shifts. It is tempting to draw conclusion that

under these shifts language and people have got bloated to a point where realization of ‘New Linguistic

World Order’ is optimistic as well as a vision statement. Also, the shifts provide an interesting point of

contrast between the Old Linguistic World Order and the ‘New Linguistic World Order’ and mark more than

admission of the utility of intervention at a time when Western despair is growing and non-Western is at

peak. The world has experienced linguistic breakthroughs and counter-breakthroughs in the past owing to

other shifts. In the 21st century, the linguistic world rises in glee to pronounce the onset of New Linguistic

World Order and now it seems that there will be a change of guard as it grows louder. I readily acknowledge

that linguistic shifts have occurred in the past – but, the present shift is transoceanic and wishes to set more

demanding and inclusive criteria for restructuring the linguistic map of the world. In the continuation of

previous shifts, Zakaria (2008: 1-2) summaries the present shift in this fashion:

“There have been three tectonic power shifts over the last five hundred years, fundamental changes in the

distribution of power that have reshaped international life – its politics, economics, and culture. The first

was rise of the western world, a process that began in the fifteenth century and accelerated dramatically

in the late eighteenth century. It produced modernity as we know it: science and technology, commerce

and capitalism, the agricultural and industrial revolutions. It also produced the prolonged political

dominance of the nations of the West.

The second shift, which took place in the closing years of the nineteenth century, was the rise of the

United States. Soon after it industrialized, the United States became the most powerful nation since

imperial Rome, and the only one that was stronger than any likely combination of other nations. For

most of the last century, United States has dominated global economics, politics, science, and culture.

For the last twenty years, that dominance has been unrivalled, a phenomenon unprecedented in modern

history.

We are now living through the third great power shift of the modern era. It could be called “the rise of

the rest”.

2.1. Power Shift

With intention of exploring the impact of power shift on linguistic world order, it is essential to begin

with the following questions: 1). What else, if the centre of power drifts from west to east? 2). What else, if

centre of power shift to Asia? 3). What else, if the non-western world overtakes western world? Do these

questions appear to be near impossibilities? With totalitarian potential, power shift has something special to

contribute in altering the linguistic face of the world – at least the idea of alternative west in the present

century seems to be a certainty.

It is rather not as curious as one might be tempted to think that power shift – an inclusive term coalescing

economic, political, military and social shifts - deserves special attention for the obvious reason that it is

driving linguistic world at a cheerful stage in the human history – at least, to an extent no parallel in the past.

As a broad framework within which the insights of NWLO can be understood, it is useful to highlight that

power shift might also be construed as two sides of the same coin: 1. gloomy face of the West and cheeriness

in the alternative-West. Now, the truth is neither elsewhere nor everywhere - rather, it rests precisely here.

History has witnessed that no language of the world has ever sustained to be powerful beyond the

temperament of power – or at least, no language has done that. The power dynamics of wide-ranging trend of

powerful languages suggests that failure or decline of power of empire has caused loses to the languages.

The first decade of 21st century has bestowed enough confidence among all of us that the present trends

in emerging markets are heading towards greater Asian economic dominance at international level. A

comparative study of the top 10 largest economies by GDP and in PPP terms in 2010 and 2020 brings us

closer to spectacular economic shift – that is, by 2020 there will be sweeping alteration in the global balance

of economic power, as shown here:

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Fig. 3: Largest Economies in 2010 and 2020

In terms of total GDP measured at purchasing power parity, the top ten largest economies in 2010 were:

USA, China, Japan, India, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom (UK), France, Brazil and Italy. In 2010,

China ranked as the second largest economy in the world, with GDP making up to 13.3% of the world total

in PPP terms. Emerging countries have performed better than advanced economies during the global

economic recession. By 2020, there will be major shift in the world economic order in which emerging

economies will become more pivotal than what they are even today. China will overtake USA to become the

largest world economy in 2017 and there will be more emerging economies in the top ten economies by 2020

and beyond. By 2050, the East Asian and South Asian economies will have increased by over 20 times. It is

more than hope that by 2020 there will be a major shift in the global balance of economy and many more

positive forces of emerging nations will become apparent by 2030. One of the phenomenal events of first

decade of 21st century is the ascent of rise of the East Asia and seems to be in a better position for providing

better solution to global imbalance. With a reasonable assessment, Bergsten (2004:91-92) goes further in

highlighting the importance of emerging zone in this fashion:

“[...East Asia] is in the process of creating an economic bloc that could eventually comprise both a

regional free trade area and Asian monetary fund. Such a block which would claim about one-fifth of the

world economy, 20 percent of global trade, and $1.5 trillion in monetary (mostly dollar) reserves – about

ten times those of the United States. Such an East Asian group would be a third economic superpower”.

The political temperament the world has changed. Indeed, the echo of same can be heard everywhere.

The 2005 report on Mapping the Global Future, by the National Intelligence Council which is the centre

for strategic thinking in the USA intelligent community, seems to be highly satisfying:

“The likely emergence of China and India... as new major global players, similar to the advent of a

united Germany in the 19th century and a powerful United States in the early 20th century, will

transform the geopolitical landscape with impacts potentially as dramatic as those in the previous two

centuries. In this new world, a mere 15 years away, the United States will remain ‘an important shaper of

the international order’, probably single most powerful country, but its ‘relative power position’ will

have eroded’. The new ‘arriviste powers’ not only China and India, but also Brazil, Indonesia and

perhaps others will accelerate this erosion by perusing ‘strategies designed to exclude or isolate the

United States’ in order to ‘force or cajole’ us into playing by their rules”. (Kaplan 2005).

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What is more knowable is the fact that the revealing contrast of West to its past has already crafted a

silky path for the New Linguistic World Order. Since reverse order for the West has already arrived, the

irresistible shift of global power to east is not less than a reality.

Economy shift can broadly and better be seen in terms of alternativeness and collaboration. The rise of

East is a perfect example of alternativeness which has potential of altering linguistic scene g[locally].

Collaboration is turning out to be the need of day and emerging economy is playing positive roles in the new

world order maneuvering. In the present collaborative venture, the western world has, at least, lost stamina

and the world is no longer positioned unidirectional. The news that needs acknowledgment is that emerging

economy is playing positive roles in translating NLWO into a collaborative venture. In the present economic

sphere, West and non-West are becoming partners to meet the developmental expectations of each other. The

truth is: today compulsions are more on the West to negotiate with alternative west without counting on the

glory of past. The rising importance of emerging economies will have better implications for linguistic

consumption, linguistic investment and linguistic priority. It is likely that there will be enormous

opportunities for linguistic business in the emerging economies. The degree of linguistic competitiveness in

the emerging economies will be enormously encouraging compared to the linguistic constituency of West.

Never before in the history both western civilization and historically peripheral civilizations (Sinic, Indic)

had direct encounter or have even been reciprocal to each other - the West has either dominated the East or

the East has always failed to reach the West. In the 21st century both are entering into intense competition

and also becoming reciprocal; and, as a result, NLWO seems to be more stimulating and charismatic.

Economically powerful nations are encouraging collaboration and trying to be more reciprocal with the

internal integrity on the one side and the negotiation skill on the other. On the positive side, it will be an era

of great linguistic transformation.

It is an accident of the history that the story of NLWO embarks on decline of the West and the rise of the

alternative- West. It is likely that if alternative -West fulfils its growth potential, it can become a motor for

the NLWO, and a key contributor to engender growth in the alternative west. The advances in domestic

linguistic market in the non- Western sphere will be a major starting point for development of languages.

The rise in domestic linguistic market has already boosted linguistic sustainability rates among the

multilingual countries of alternative-West. Hence, compared to alternative-Western nations, linguistic

pressure will be more on western nations. If these predictions and realties are overwhelmingly realized and

celebrated, then NLWO would appear as a vision statement.

2.2. Demographic Shifts

Fig. 4: World Population as Per Hundred Persons

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There is no doubt that the destiny of language lies in the demographic strength. In a similar vein, it

boasts human resources and morale to which it belongs. There is no better time to reiterate this than now. In

the past languages have expanded and shrunk on the back of the social, cultural, military, scientific,

technological and organizational strengths and weaknesses of speakers. Being a social fact, language gains

extraordinary strength and confidence from speakers. More than that young generation makes language more

energetic, magnetic and lively. Also, there is no denying that the population’s strength of a language prevents

linguistic deficit by preparing base and ensuring better provisions for future growth. The point of departure is:

Demographic strength is the sign of progress for languages whereas demographic deficit signals further

decline. The key to the triumph of NLWO lies heavily in the aspiration of demographic shift and increasing

strength of the middle class is adding new value to it. Ultimately, to know what demographic shift

contributes to NLWO involves a lot of engaging and interaction. Did we know if the world’s population was

reduced to 100 people, 61 of them would be from Asia, 12 from Europe, 13 from Africa, and 14 from

western hemisphere?

Two points deserve a closer examination: (1) The western world incurs demographic deficit. (2) The

alternative-West incurs demographic gain. The question that needs answer, therefore, is: To what extent

these realities will impact the linguistic world order? On the population radar growth Asia is expected to

grow handsomely and enthusiastically – touching the mark of more than five billion by 2050. One the one

hand, the Western (mainly, North American and European) share of the global population is expected to

decline. Graddol (2006:24) has eagerly foresighted the impact of demographic divides in the linguistic make

up of world:

Much of the rapid change which we have witnessed in recent years – in economic, political spheres – is

related to population trends. As the developing world becomes more populous whilst developed

countries meet the challenges of an ageing population, the world system has been transformed.

The demographic divides are no longer invisible and the divide will have major pronouncement in the

linguistic makeup of the world. With more than four billion new linguistic breeds; the twenty-first century

appears to be perfect timing and good ground for scripting the New Linguistic World Order. More

interestingly, demographic divide between the West and the alternative- West is beginning to have immense

impact on rising proportion in the English working age group which is attributable neither to post-

colonialism nor to globalization – but, cleanly to higher linguistic productivity, better technological

excitement, deep social acceptability and efficient organization in the new world.

With huge population, rising household incomes, indigenous consumer goods and service markets, the

emerging economies will boast vibrant linguistic opportunities which will also be affordable to the

enormously expanding middle class. English will be direct beneficiary of middle class rise. It is iniquitous to

still estimate that English ‘is becoming the language of high society’ (Fishman, 2001:1). Younger consumers

of middle class will be main factor in bringing linguistic freshness at the global level. The data of 2010

reveal that the population in emerging markets is generally younger than in the advanced economies: In the

BRICS countries the share of population aged less than 25 years old to total population is 39.9%, compared

to 27.6% in the EU. In 2010, the total population of BRICS countries stood at 2,856 million people,

compared to 737 million people in the G7. In the 21st century, young population is not only business

destination- but also linguistic charm. The potential change can be adjudged considering the following:

‘We want to go global by going east, not west’ declared the chairman of Emaar Properties - one of the

world’s largest property developers, based in Dubai…’The west has got ageing populations and ageing

economies. The east is where the true glamour lies’ ( Barton and de Boer 2007:15).

Enthusiasm is more in India as its 300 million strong middle-class populations are growing at an annual

rate of 5% and will be adding nearly 138 million to working age population by 2021-22. The demographic

advantage, in a manner, heralds India into new linguistic world for catalyzing large scale linguistic

opportunity and market. Hence, we move closer to the fact that deep multilingual country like India will no

longer be constrained by linguistic diversity in her linguistic celebration. With several advantages, a large

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growing and expanding domestic linguistic market will provide impetus to India becoming a linguistic

power-house. Since the pronouncement of demographic divide is irreversible, the accent for NLWO is set to

become even stronger. Because of demographic advantage, the ideas of NLWO prove to be stronger in

alternative west and weaker in western world. World’s linguistic landscape will even be more glorious,

fulfilling and rewarding as the alternative-West will advantageously peruse tactical linguistic vision towards

building up an exemplary multilingual enterprise at [g]local level.

2.3. Social Psychological Shift

For new linguistic breed, now the focus is more on the quality of linguistic contribution and not

primarily on identity issue with language. The concept of work-life balance is establishing foothold in every

sector. Linguists have to begin with new questions –mostly relating to the way new breeds now perceive

languages. There is a fundamental shift taking place – particularly, the way new linguistic breeds perceive

language both in terms of future availability and strategies. The new linguistic breed is smart enough in

dealing with linguistic demands. More than anything else, the present day attracts the loudest linguistic cheer

than ever before because linguistic trust is becoming social valuable asset and also forming the basis of 21st

century’s linguistic reality. Linguistic trust is stimulating respect for the inherent value and to the right of

every language. It is true that linguistic trust is turning out to be right tribute to the 21st century’s linguistic

reality. There is a new breed of men on the rise so as a new breed of language. As a result, we need to

socially map the rise of new linguistic breed and its uniqueness. On the one hand, new breed is comfortable

in handling emotions of local languages; on the other hand, does not hesitate in embracing other languages.

Everyone can notice a big shift in linguistic behavior. Commitment and responsibility are in. The line of

difference between old habit and new habit is alarming. There is a change of role play – local languages are

gentler so as other languages. The new breed is more accommodative today. They have learnt from the

failure of generations and also discovering linguistic individuality in a refreshingly new way. There is a

sense of positivity in the way new breed handles himself. More importantly, new breed is full of temptation

in making new linguistic choices. In today’s transitional society, English - which now engages herself

perfectly in day to day life across the linguistic boundaries among multilingual as well monolingual non-

native nations by becoming the basic linguistic ingredient – is, perhaps the finest example to demonstrate

that such shift is almost impossible without the change in mindset. "Views of a Changing World," conducted

by Pew Research Centre through polling 66,000 people from 50 countries between 2001 to 2003, confirm

that there is a global consensus on the need to learn English with obvious positivity for own language, as

shown below:

Fig. 5: Global Consensus for Learning English

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As a result, multilingualism has become celebrative today. With dilution of rigid linguistic boundaries,

this is the era of new linguistic sensitivity and linguistic tenderness is no longer invisible. The threat of

linguistic aggression is out dated now and proving crucial in its victory against linguistic ills. Above all, the

signal of linguistic kindness is bright. The herbivore’s style and attitude towards choices are changing the

linguistic culture in positive and friendly way. Here is a new generation of young in their 10 to 30s who

realize that elitism should not be attached to languages anymore. The new breed of man has softened

linguistic attitude and the lust is for linguistic successes. Above all, there is a great deal of linguistic

transformation taking place. In particular, the landscape of linguistic consumption is changing rapidly with

shifting tendency. To clear matters further, largely due to new business and political trends branded

monolingual countries across the globe will now be catching up with multilingualism to avoid disconnect.

For the West this is as good a wake- up call as any. Similarly, there is a tough competition Worldwide,

integrated languages are fast becoming the norm. Who is ready for accepting the change of mindset? As

people are linguistically more integrated today than ever before in the history, can linguists design linguistic

world more sustainable? Is the hope of new linguistic world order around the globe a solution to the ever-

growing breed? There may be many cases where strains of linguistic, cultural and social ingredients enter

into conflicts in the contact situations – but linguistic negotiation is noticeable on the new linguistic terrain.

2.4. Technological Shift

Language is presumed to be man’s world – but now technology is making it big in the techno world. In

today’s world technology is the best gift that the language has already accepted. With technological

innovations languages are making big differences to own lives. What technology can do to get this new

linguistic world going? That is the question we must be asking. There is enough evidence to believe that

language cannot only be understood backwards and in present but it must also be lived forwards. All that a

small language needs to do is to follow some tips to make big difference to life. Interestingly, the at hand

techno- environment is social as well as physical and ready to demonstrate the state of wellbeing of language

- providing new impetus to linguistic ecology. With technological shift, the linguistic world has gained even

more than power and demographic shifts. The linguistic world is taking pleasure in surplus benefits owing to

technological boom. It has potential to reduce linguistic deficit for local languages. There is no gentler way

than technology when it comes to designing a new method for enriching languages. When it comes to

transforming the visibility of language with ease, technological innovation leads the way. If we ever look

back the linguistic era before technological advancement, we are bound to see one thing clearly standing out:

the theme of experimenting with multiple sites that the languages are enjoying today has never been the same

before. More than that technology is enforcing new pattern of communication and also restructuring the

language pattern instead of caricaturing the dominants. The good news is that languages are turning towards

technology for support which is now feasible for almost everyone and everywhere. Both homogenization and

pluralisation are speeding in equal footing and not hurting either influential languages or emerging languages.

Fortunately, the languages placed remotely have better chances to be heard on the mainstream sites than ever

before. With new technology, locals have enough strength to push themselves on strategically safer side to

encounter assimilation. As a result we have “an even greater potential to nourish diversity to a degree that the

world has never seen before’ (Friedman, 2006: 478). With technological advancement, emerging languages

are seeking a record success at world’s helm and will also seek to unseat western imperial languages on the

wave of anti-incumbency and anti-western sentiment. Linguistic opportunities are expected to grow

exponentially as Friedman explorers through Nilekani’s eye:

“possible for more people than ever to collaborate and compete in real time with more other people on

more different kinds of work from more different comers of the planet and on a more equal footing than

at any previous time in the history of the world – using computers, e-mail, fiber –optic networks,

teleconferencing, and dynamic new software (quote, Friedman, 2006: p-8).

2.5. Linguistic Shift

So what’s the story and how deep is it? Indeed it is to be argued that in order to understand the potential

of NLWO in tandem with other shifts in the 21st century; we need to highlight the wheel of evolution in

progress over the centuries. In the preface of other shifts, let me restate the ascent of New Linguistic World

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Order which seemed to have begun in the following directions: decline of the west (Jacques 2009); power

transition and power diffusion ( Nye, 2011), rise of alternative west (Singh, 2011); levelling of playing field

(Nilekani, 2008); the world being flattened (Friedman, 2006); irresistible shift of global to the east

(Mahbubani, 2008), and rise of rest ( Zakaria, 2008):

Fig. 6: Wheel of Evolution of NLWO

The question which needs answer is this: How and why did new linguistic world order emerge and

flourish? If we focus our attention on the onus of direction, timing and enactment of present encounter

between the West and alternative -West, it goes without saying that never such encounters occurred in the

past - at least, one can hardly locate sufficient similarity to suggest a parallel. The most stimulating aspect of

evolution of NLWO is unprecedented encounter that contrast sharply with what had hitherto never prevailed.

One can see evidences which are yielding the pattern. The fact that encounter during this period is different

from any that had existed before injects new twist in the tale of NLWO evolution and even makes more

wide-ranging than simple linguistic breakthrough. As we all know: either due to inwards appreciation or

outwards fear the great peripheral civilizations- China and India - situated in the East had never adventured

the West whereas West had exercised dominance on them in assorted ways. The onus of direction of present

encounter lies in the answer to the following questions: (1) Is 21st century witnessing Asia’s return? (2) Is

East overtaking West to form a landmark in the history of linguistics? The present encounter becomes

outstanding in the human history and linguistic creativity. Why are we inspired to compare similarities and

differences between the present and past encounters in the forms of East and West? These two civilizations

were conspicuously eminent and the peaks can be pointed out time to time in more solitary style. It is

commonly accepted that China and India were as rich as the West right up until 1800s. With the end of

western dominance and arrival of East, have we entered into a new linguistic era in human history? Or, is

history approaching the fuller circle, as shown above? Is it also the best way to understand the emerging

geopolitics of world with new linguistic recipes, tastes and celebrations? Graddol’s observation (2006: 32)

emphatically justifies the need of redrawing the circle of movement which is undoubtedly in favor of rise of

the alternative west:

Before the 19th century, India and China were the world’s economic superpowers. Thanks to their new

economic rise, they will soon regain their former status – and our perceptions of the relative importance

of world languages may also change.

Power transition and power diffusion , rise

of East and rise of alternative -West

Leveling of power playing fields and the world being

fattened

Rise of rest and emergence of

participatary and colloborative

world

Evolution of New Linguistic World

Order

decline of the empire , western superpower and

decline of Old linguistic World

Order

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This point in particular that the wheel of linguistic evolution is approaching a fuller circle needs to be

stressed – at least, for knowing basic causal relations between declining trends of west and laudable rise of

East. Better linguistic sense needs to prevail for the following reasons: (1) the trend has been pronounced in

the 21st century itself, and (2) rise of alternative west not only reciprocates with decline of West but also

contrasts with the Old Linguistics World Order. The point is worth pursuing further: What has resulted in

form of West and East is the ‘civilization encounter’ that exists nowadays – a new linguistic evolution.

As NLWO has already acquired shape, size and variety, are we almost close to understanding of value it

has which is not less than a linguistic expedition? Does discovery of the new linguistic world order

coincidence with two competing expeditions on the shape of world: (1) Columbus’s round world and (2)

Friedman’s flat world? Both convergence and divergence in the developments of these two shapes have so

much to tell us in the formation of Linguistic World Order. The landscape of round world and flat world

demarcates entirely two different worlds in which human beings have lived and are currently living. It is a

reality that the round world’s appreciation confirms western supremacy where in the rest follows the West.

As a test case, the contrast between the two can be enumerated as follows: In the first exploration India was

landscaped as an exotic place peopled with snake charmers, god man. In the second exploration India

emerges as an alternative to the West in both soft power (Bollywood, yoga, Basmati rice) and hard power

(Agni iv and V and India’s projected growth of more 8%) (Friedman, 2006). Now it is also a strategic power

owing to demographic strength, new techno breed, deep democracy and deep multilingualism. The alteration

of round world into flat world also pledges great linguistic transformation which is taking place g[locally].

According to Friedman (2006), the flattening of the world means that “we are now connecting all knowledge

centres on planets into a single global network, which- if politics and terrorism do not get in the way – could

usher in amazing era of prosperity, innovation, and collaboration, by companies communities, and

individuals” (p-8). Transition from round world to the flat world prioritizes the significance of New

Linguistic World Order over Old Linguistic World Order and forms the prospect of some of encouraging

signs. As a result, the temperament of NLWO appears to be affluent.

There is an urgent need to realize that the emerging trends of globalization have many things to

offer for social wellbeing with collective responsibilities. Therefore, those who are still perplexed

and have a preference towards justifying globalization as an unhappy state of affair for languages

must be requested not to treat globalization any more with negative metaphor. Today the weighty

matters of hegemony have changed. Those were the days when the fear was justified. It is

academically unfortunate that for Patnaik and Husnain (2006: Cover page):

“Globalization has also led to the emergence of new media imperialism and creation of new world order,

which is a euphemism for linguistic hegemony and regimentation. One manifestation of the hegemony

could be seen in the extensive use of, and consequent dominance of, English Worldwide. In this scenario,

issues relating to the situation of Indian languages would need to be clarified”.

Naive and misguided referential globalization (inclined towards the West) may be, but those who still

prefer to camp up with pessimistic aura of globalization need to realize that in the present era of reciprocal

globalization ( West and non-west are becoming partners) there is something praiseworthy and it has

alternatively become qualifiedly beneficial for us. Can West today legitimately claim to political ideology of

referential globalization? It is for us to judge whether or not our claim of providing a genuine linguistic

alternative is credible. The West’s linguistic dominance in form of globalization was perpetrated in the 20th

century and the wheel has turned swiftly in the 21st century. Friedman’s (2006:11) demarcation between 1.0,

2.0 and 3.0 levels of globalization deserves mention here:

“Globalization 3.0 differs from the previous eras not only in how it is shrinking and flattening the world

and in how it is empowering individuals. It is also different in that globalization 1.0 and 2.0 were driven

primarily by European and American individuals and businesses”.

The onus of timing suggests that Asia is blossoming and eventually emancipating politically with

potential of subverting the established order. The question is: does it spell a complete reversal of the

linguistic world? What is more: The fact that two great civilizations of Asia have risen from descend with

turn of wheel of globalization, we must be academically prepared to believe that no transformation and

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alternation in history was ever more dramatic than what we are experiencing today. No wonder that a

positive version of 21st century globalization points toward domestic strength of Asia in capitalizing the

global presence. De Rato’s (2006) observation is worth quoting here:

Asia remains a leader in world growth. We have recently increased our projection for growth in the

region to 7 percent, about the same as in 2005. In part, this growth is driven by an increase in demand for

region’s exports, but in many countries it also reflects rising domestic demand – a welcome trend

The peripheral civilizations (China and India) have arrived at the turning point of human history whose

domestic energy holds the key to linguistic success. The time is ripe for both to display the leadership to

commensurate with past. Here, however, let me suggest the crux of issue related to language shift. The

present encounter between West and East demonstrates two dissimilar patterns compared to past: the east can

demonstrate linguistic creativity to influence the West and the West, by contrast, will became archetype of

linguistically closed society. However, I will refrain blaming the grand old man of sociolinguistics, Fishman,

who still appears to be obstinate with his hegemonic mindset by visualizing new linguistic order in the midst

of globalization (2001) rather on trends of reciprocal globalization. It is high time to enlighten him that

“globalization was something the rich countries did to the rest of the world – for the good of all, of course.

Now it is beginning to feel like something someone else is doing to them (Stephens, 2007:3).

What seems to be exceptional and unique in the NLWO is the onus of linguistic enactment. Linguistic

shift seems to be valid not only from historical point of views but more importantly also from the plain truth

of our own age in providing judgment on […own] language and […other] language. In the Old linguistic

World Order linguistic priorities were often demonstrated unethically where as in the present breakthrough

the world is, by and large, liberated from linguistic ills and has become linguistically more livable. What all

this tells us is demonstrably clear: In the present order the linguistics priorities are not conducted at the

linguistic knife’s edge and the world is no longer irrational towards linguistic violence. The Europeans

conceived languages and devised theories what they thought was perfect proof of nation, citizen and

individual loyalty. The western world preferred glamorizing self with linguistic superiority and the rest

accredited the west to be chosen for the best in terms of linguistic superiority. As a result, two of these made

language the best tool for dominating, manipulating and subjugating others all over the world. Finally,

language was forced to:

“Became a tool for manipulation of people and their behaviours, as it is used for a variety of political

agendas in the battle of power, representation and voice. Such uses changed language from a free and

open device used for communication and interaction to a symbolic political instrument. It is through

language that group memberships are determined, leading to categories of “us” and “them”, inclusion

and exclusion, loyality and “foreign-ness’ “haves’ and “have-nots”. Language is further used as a tool for

legitimizing people, determining the right to use language and speech vs. the need to be silent (Cameron,

1998) and the right to use specific varieties and specific languages, so that language is expected to be

correct, pure, native –like and grammatical. Thus, language turned from an open and free system to a

tool for imposition, manipulation and colonization, mostly used by ideologues and politicians with

support of linguists and educationalists. It is used in ways that require the following of strict rules of

behaviour, in terms of how, where and when” ( Shohamy, 2006: 23).

With this they not only cheered but also administered the rest over the centuries. With rise of modernity

and nationality in the west, language routinely became political tool for aggravating linguistic turf. Today

they seem to have lost their appetite for experimenting with same after spearheading the loss in the new

world order. Certainly, something new has happened in the last few years as a result of transoceanic rise of

the alternative- West. The linguistic world has come a long way – indeed, crossing and liberating the marks

of us/them and haves/haves not and by exhibiting best performance in negotiating [...self] and [...other].

Language has turned from being a closed and stagnated system into a free communicative means of

information. Possibly, the shame that old linguistic world order has incurred in dividing nonnegotiable [...self]

and [...other] on the linguistic ground is diminishing to the large extent amidst linguistic temptation and

celebration.

3. Linguistic Scenario in the 21st Century

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If we are to appraise linguistic scenario in the 21st

century, we need to judge the pluses and minuses of

rise of emerging languages and decline of influential languages which are also making the world apart. There

is a little doubt that this will also help in knowing about the ascending trajectory of NLWO since the first

decade of 21st century. Earlier it was influential languages which led the way – but, now, big breakthrough is

rise of emerging languages. This is developing into a trend. That being said, the fact remains that there is one

glimmer of hope: The iconic global brand of English seems to be shining well. But the upwards blip of

English is comparatively a small consolation for the high days of western superpowers. On the other hand,

this is irony of English that its growth story now owes to rise of alternative west and with advent of NLWO it

is under new manufacturing process. Increasingly, there is a need to attempt a full inventory of new forces

that have become vehicle for shaping the linguistic scenario and means of prospecting for alternative form of

linguistic world order. The context in which alternativeness is occurring seems to have determinate outcomes.

I see the following interrelated configurations that define the linguistic scenario in the new linguistic world

order:

Decline of Anglo-sphere in domestic fronts and rise of Anglo-sphere in the emerging nations;

Decline European Origins’ influential languages;

Rise of emerging nations’ emerging languages; and

Linguistic consolidation of languages in the peripheral world and the rest

There is a real opportunity to shape the global debate over the idea of emerging language as it seems to

be stronger today than the influential language. We must demarcate the boundary between ‘emerging

language’ and ‘influential language’ with frankness. The emerging languages of alternative -West are with

demographic options. This is the subject of immense importance because the key to success of emerging

languages lies in linguistic energy of the speakers themselves and a large slice of benefit also goes to English.

The contrast is that greater gains for languages in emerging nations can be recorded whereas the linguistic

zone of developed nations seems to be dull. The shift in linguistic world order positively means that some

languages of the emerging nations are seeking to achieve high performance and the languages of a few

developed countries are no longer in position to dominate the present linguistic order. Emerging nations will

set different priorities with regard to linguistic preferences. There is, of course, something quite attractive

about the idea of putting new linguistic foundation of world in place. Investigating in emerging language is

not the only way to capture the imagination of NLWO – but, certainly the basic way to understand the

broader implications of socio-economic development, military, governance, innovation, geography,

population, culture, religion, history and Diasporas on languages:

Fig. 7: Positive and Negative Trends in Developed and Emerging Nations

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Is it signalling a new wave of linguistic equation and power in a multi-polar world order? Since the West

as a global power is becoming myth in the 21st century, the influential languages of West have to be pleased

with their past and not with the present. What will the future hold? The four linguistic paradigms proposed

above do stand closer to the centre of reality as they are impacting the linguistic lives across the world.

With declining good news in the host nations, the face and temperament of English have changed

radically. Here lies the contradiction: With increasing privileges in the guest nations across the globe,

English cherishes the happiest news in her life span. What really differentiates English from all other

languages of the world is that now it is ready for everyone. Today’s English fitness is all about her ability to

meet linguistic demands across the linguistic boundaries and its helpfulness in daily life with relative ease. It

is no longer confined to the image of "The West". Interestingly, the ingredients that make English celebrative

in the new linguistic world order are distinctively far from what we have been seen in the past and becoming

even livelier in the non-native lands with ease. As the voice of English is louder in the non-native countries

than never before, its philanthropic success in providing multi- dimensional, soft and emotional identity to

new breed’s personality is even the loudest. In the emerging nation like India, English hangs out at all

favourite domains and growing in II and III tiers cities with tremendous energy. The growth of English is

now socially, culturally and politically symmetrical and becoming non-linear unlike the past. There is a new

balance in a language being and speaker being and slowly warming up to idea of deep multilingualism. So as

the case, linguistic overtake for English being a global to celebrating language is a reality. English is on

tremendous rise and presents, perhaps, the most obvious example of how a language can be on the ramp in

the other’s territory without much preparation. Today English is flowing out in many ways with loud and

clear message. In the alternative- West or the non-West, gain for English is higher than anticipated. The

question, therefore, is: What is boasting the growth driver of English’s use? Its boldness is equitable with

linguistic comfort as well as linguistic temptation. With current capability, English caters to world’s healthy

linguistic demands and also conserves floating English-es brands. The voice pertaining to genuineness and

labeling of English will travel, without doubt, to determine its credibility.

The catch is: The new linguistic breeds in the emerging nations are stimulating takers for English as well

as own language. The news that English will have greater influence over global socio-political, economic

and institutional governance will no longer hurt emerging nations – rather, it is welcomed news. Growing

superpowers will need many more people speaking English to accelerate the growth engine. A skilled work

force with English speaking abilities is one of developing world’s economic advantages. Towards linguistic

inroads, emerging nations will be requiring to improve English proficiency. The Chinese have already

realized and pumping in massive amounts of resources to acquire English speaking skills. According to

estimation China may now have more people speaking English than India. The new educational policy of

China will be successful in adding about million new English speakers each year. Almost everywhere

English is getting top billing in schools. Even if only about 10.7% percent of Indian population speaks some

English, according to 2000-2001 Census, in terms of absolute number of speakers, this pool is next to the

USA. This is the main reason why India ranks as a top BPO destination in the world. There is optimism in

the air that spread of English enriches confidence and faith among local languages by virtue of perfect

collaboration. As a result, emerging nations are shaping up as the linguistic power-house of the 21st century.

Not being foolproof, it is perhaps more suited to satisfy domestic as well as healthy global demand – but, no

more in British or USA flavor. Across the linguistic boundaries English provides first step to increasing

formal participation at the global level. Almost everywhere, lets exceptions lead the example, English is

getting top willing in School. Forces at work behind tremendous amount of fashion-ability and honor in

English are linguistic booms in the emerging nations. English communication is breaking away from its

traditional niche in the non-native countries. The growth of English may not be simply seen as a linguistic

success but a social manufacturing victory. In India the dalits pledge to learn the English language as well as

worship it as a Goddess in the temple. Moving to emerging nations with respect is the best thing that could

have happened to English. The linguistic scenario of English has entered into a new era and situations have

never been same before

This is the up side. There may also be a sad downside resulting to this rising growth of English. As we

approach 21st century further, English will have great unscripted challenges. Will English, in particular, face

22

a situation which is not akin to western world’s decent linguistic life? Despite unprecedented growth and

success in the emerging nations, the danger for English lies with what Kachru (1975) calls inner circle of

English to an extent that a made in West story for English will end slowly. The name English will rhyme

with everything that is linguistically desirable in the alternative-West. As the English brand is likely to be

marginalized in own native land, it will have new linguistic hubs in corridors of alternative-west. It is a

curious anomaly that in an age when English has become so popular in what Kachru (1975) calls outer circle

and expanding circle, English perils at home. Above all, English apparently falls under the category of

emerging language because of its good health in the emerging nations. English in English countries is being

wounded and the same is improving and shaping up elsewhere. It is no longer elegant on the ease of past and

glory. Now faults and worries are more with queen English and not with variants of English-es. Outside

home domain, English will be far more ‘popular’ than it is today. Her ability in linguistic execution will best

be addressed in the emerging nations. The question is: Where will English then go? If the blessings for

English continue, by the year 2040, it will probably be spoken by approximately 3 billion people.

At a time when emerging languages are cherishing ambitions through young linguistic breed; on

linguistic growth radar, European languages are facing demographic deficit and ethical exhaustion. As the

successful languages of European nations happen to be endowed with ageing population, now they are

perpetually on the precipice of becoming failed languages. Within three to four generations, it is likely that

European native speakers will be minorities in the territories now they occupy – if the current paradigm shift

continues further with same momentum. The idea of Influential languages needs to be depoliticized. As the

situation prevails the idea of influential languages, conversely, cannot even save from their own calamities.

With consequences of decaying demography, power and economy, the European languages are far from the

sound area domination and worldwide influence. In future, some of these languages even may not have

luxury of consolation of past that they have cherished better than anyone else, and elsewhere.

Among the influential languages of world, German and French – champions of linguistic romanticism -

need special mention here. Both are declining across the world and even sliding in the native countries. At

least we can say for French that it can no longer wait for tryst with destiny. It will suffer decline in above all

world-wide influence when measured against enthusiastic languages and own glorious days. In years to

follow the blow of French’s decline will be enormous to cause the sense of mourning among the well-

wishers of French. Interestingly, with nearly 200 million speakers worldwide, the second most learned

second language, the official language of the UNO and the EU and the second most influential language of

world, the condition of French sounds very strong on paper. Now all these feel good factors for the French

are burdened with ‘ifs’ of present. Compared to her glorious past, French seems to have already lost the

enthusiasm and French speaking nations may find themselves in helplessness in reshaping the destiny of

French. Wardhaugh‘s observation (1987:149) is worth mentioning here:

The power of France as a country has declined in the twentieth century just as has the power of England.

However, the loss of England’s power has been more than offset by the rise to world ascendancy of the

United States, another Anglophone state. France has no similar francophone state to offset the loses she

has sustained in the same period. While the English language continues to spread in the world, the

French struggle to arrest the decline of their language and to prevent that decline from becoming a rout.

With twenty seven trading partners of French speaking countries, many of them in the emerging

economies, the language does seem to have savior to prevent it from sliding as was and is the case with

English. Undoubtedly, it was a prestigious language of world. But this is no longer a healing factor because

languages with quantitative support are more energetic and grow faster than supported by qualitative

counterparts. That is also to say that the strength of native speakers is more decisive factor as opposed to the

second language speaker. In terms of native demographic strength even the medium sized languages of India

- Bengali, Tamil, Marathi, and Telugu – supersede the French.

The influence of German – once the language of high academic credibility, the language of linguistic

romanticism and one of the major languages of science and technology in the 20th century – is under threat

and is even murkier than the French. It used to be academically binding until 1930s for the students of

chemistry in the USA to have a working knowledge of German and even its popularity was exceptionally

23

well grounded in Japan. Had Germany won the World War German would have been in exhilarating position?

Even it would have altered the linguistic temperament of world – at least, by stopping the worldwide growth

of English. Eco (1995) had dreamed in, perhaps, a better way: Had Hitler won World War II – We would

probably today use German as a universal vehicular language? The World War II created catastrophic

situation for German and after that it never recovered. German has come under additional pressure for

various reasons. Residents of smaller Germanic countries – like the Netherlands, Norway – seem to

nowadays be noncommittal to German and are inclining towards languages which would provide better

opportunity to communicate in the wider world. No doubt, German is unfortunately a language in decline in

the new linguistic world order.

As 21st century is witnessing the Asia’s return, it would be reasonable to begin with Chinese, language of

the next superpower, and Hindi, one of the official languages of the future superpower. In the present

shifting power equation, Chinese is, undoubtedly, at the peak of rise and also full of enthusiasm. Its ego

problem may get blown out of proportion, once the Chinese’s currency gets prominence at international level.

Does it also fear that it may disrupt Chinese, leading to external strife and low morale? With aspiration of the

next superpower, it is almost imperative that the Chinese will confer stiff rivalry to English. Will Chinese

ever have edge over English? China will try to match USA on linguistic indicator also. But once the distance

between English and Chinese grows aggressively, the linguistic loss will be more on Chinese side. Its

probability to spread beyond boundary is unlikely to be high as, unlike Indians, speakers are conspicuously

disinterested in spreading its use outside own linguistic boundaries. Insistence on Chinese will become

obstacle in linguistic mutuality with other languages and finally hindrance in the spread of Chinese outside

the national boundary. Closed societal tendency will make Chinese more suspicious in days to follow. As a

result, despite its huge number of native speakers, Chinese will stay back in home and as usual its

concentration will be confined in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. However, its continent-sized

home base will always give sufficient confidence to compete with English.

Today, India’s linguistic performance is extraordinary. Linguistic wellness has come long way here and

the facts lie in its linguistic gain. The way India has triumphed over the linguistic flames of post-

independence; we can always trust her capability to enshrine deep multilingualism. The deep multilingualism

has healing power and as the world’s largest deep multilingual nation; it is poised to showcase her linguistic

liberty. The pillar of India’s much cited story is of course what may rightly be called the linguistic tolerance

in-between […self] and [… others]. With the current linguistic trend in its favor, it is very likely that Hindi

may emerge as one of the most successful ‘emerging languages’ in the world. On the other hand, among the

emerging non-native English speaking nations India has the earnest patience and genuine ability to host

English. Its growing middle class will be a linguistic asset for Hindi and feel good factor for English, but the

nation will have increasingly numerous options in the different linguistic zones. As over the years, Hindi has

become the voice of India at large, it is pertinent for every Indian to push forward the positive image of

Hindi to capitalize international status. Brand Hindi will be the most invigorating and stimulating idea. With

unstoppable spread in the country, the Hindi will witness profound boost in the absolute numbers among the

non-native aspirants across the globe. The local variants of Hindi will gain regional exuberance. The finest

example of the same is nascent growth of Bhojpuri as a musical language in the Hindi belt. You will be

surprised by varieties of Bhojpuri songs the Bhojpuri Film industry comes up with. Interestingly, Hindi will

get pleasure from the large numbers of native speakers living in immigrant communities overseas. The

overseas presence will boast significant worldwide influence outside own communities. It has slowly

emerged as most significant but also unacknowledged lingua francas in the Indian subcontinent. In particular,

the large number of secondary speakers will boast its operational capability. Today, Hindi is widely spoken

in South Asia (India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Bhutan), South Africa, Mauritius, the USA, Trinidad, Fiji,

Surinam, Guyana, Yemen, Uganda, New Zealand, Malaysia and Singapore. It is the common second

language of Mauritius, Trinidad, Guyana and Surinam.

The common impression that the Dravidian-speaking south does not take interest is fading fast and in

this area the use of Hindi is wide spreading by making native language as the first priority at home and

English as an associate language for instrumental purposes. Hindi has become cool. The widespread progress

of Hindi lays with abundant energy among the new linguistic breeds those India possess. It is interesting to

24

see how for many in other countries Hindi is already the most favored language. Whatever hatred

relationship two countries have, Bollywood and Hindi soap opera have virtually conquered the Pakistan.

Anahita Mukherji’s report in the Times of India quotes Gulbadan Javed, a social activist from Hyderabad

Sindh saying “ Pakistani women are so deeply influenced by clothes and jewellery worn in Hindi soaps that

they want same for their own wedding” (TOI, 27th Nov: 2011). She reports further that even “weddings are

often postponed till late in the evening to avoid clashing with prime time Hindi soap operas” (ibid). No doubt,

Hindi has had miserable time as an official language in the post independent era. The wounded Hindi of 70s

is responding in style and confidence. The best part of Hindi is that it is in sublime touch with Indian

languages as well as English to embody her versatility among new linguistic breed in the subcontinent.

There is a merit in the argument that Spanish language is in anticipation of creating international

presence in business – largely due to increasing influence Hispanic culture has on US history and the

economy. Add to this optimism there is whispering in the corner that by 2060 the main language spoken in

the US will, in fact, be Spanish. Perhaps the one redeeming feature in this spectacle is debacle of English in

own native land and Spanish will become even more attractive in global businesses. In the wake of Latin

American economic progress, languages of the region should be on the safer side in retaining momentum. As

the Latin Americans, unlike Chinese and Japanese, seem to be keen on negotiating with English, English will

enjoy due respect in the territory. In the present contour, Spanish is certainly economic language of this

century. However, only the future will show: In which direction linguistic situation will unfold in the

peripheral continent?

How do we assess the trend of mid-sized emerging languages (Arabic, Malay, Indonesian, Persian,

Swahili, Tamil, Africans, Arabic, Bengali, Japanese, Javanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Telugu, Marathi,

Turkish, Persian, Guajarati, Malayalam, Kannada Oriya, Burmese, Thai, etc.) in the wake of NLWO? With

millions of native speakers and second language speakers, these languages will maintain demographic fitness

and will also invite native speaker to discover opportunities in own languages to execute career growth

aspirations. These languages will explore various ways of engaging themselves effectively and efficiently for

solidarity and prosperity. The speakers will be in a better position to understand the changing priorities to be

relevant in the changing world. If one seeks to explain why these languages are in position to consolidate the

energy, it would be imperative to explain the articulation of vision speakers have for […own] language and

[…other] languages. Many Indian languages feature in this category and raise definitive questions: Does

multilingualism make nation healthier, wealthier and wiser? While these still remain a topic of contention,

with deep multilingualism India has been endeavouring to fulfil enthusiastic adage. It is the right time for

China and West to learn that the linguistic wellness of the nation resides in juicier diversity rather than

linguistic toughness. These languages will witness advancement at international as well as domestic levels.

What is so significant about the contemporary phenomenon of linguistic world is its capability in

consolidating even smaller languages. One may, therefore, explore: Why has all this been happening at this

time – more interestingly, when NLWO is becoming a worldwide phenomenon?

4. New Linguistic World Order and Alternative Sociolinguistics

Sociolinguistics, I believe, must be tuned with social reality which is alive – therefore, it can neither

afford to be socially luxurious nor to be part of an idle social fantasy. Right now, one can recall many

sociolinguistic theories which can be labelled as intolerable, incomprehensible and frightening. Some of

them may also be genuine. Frankly speaking, theoretical take over is must for change. This is where; the

notion of alternative, in the broader perspectives, becomes very important in the ‘New Linguistic World

order’. What dissatisfy the sociolinguistics are not so much the chosen themes – but, more importantly, the

way in which the themes of non-West were either left out or mishandled. Therefore, the following questions

are in need of answer: (a) what were the issues in sociolinguistics? (b) What is missing in sociolinguistics? (c)

Is the gap between sociolinguistics and alternative sociolinguistics bridgeable? (d) What are the research

questions for both? Here we are compelled to identify the demerits inherent in sociolinguistics to

demonstrate intensity of disjunction between the two. Singh (2013: 109-110) rightly says:

“Theories available within the sociolinguistic paradigm can no longer be stretched to new linguistic

world order because it plays down the circumstances of new linguistic behaviors. Its unfamiliarity with

25

situations, where new social realities are shaping up, makes the task of theoretical importing futile.

Sociolinguistics has always been contented to distinguish […self] and […other] on the linguistic vectors of

1=1 – wherein, the linguistic vectors cripple and deform the […one-self] to be potential [… centripetal- self]

while confronting with […centrifugal-others]. On the contrary, in the new linguistic world order, at least,

1=1 cannot be framed by the linguistic axes of […other] and […self]. Sociolinguistic approaches hardly tend

to generate inclusive views on identity formation – mainly, because they are inspired predominantly on the

tenants of western reality. The question is: Would there be some better ways of understanding the social

realities in the field of sociolinguistics and the ways of altering the procedures for locating the

conceptualization of [in-betweens]? Locating the problems of fixity, parallelism and dualism within existing

sociolinguistic parlance may result into futile exercise. The questions are: 1. Are sociolinguistic theories

deficient? 2. Are sociolinguistic theories unworkable? 3. Or both? At this juncture, search for another

discipline does not seem to be, at least, an immediate possible solution. A call for an ‘alternative

sociolinguistics’ will be a correcting measure to rectify the theoretical deficiencies of sociolinguistics.

Henceforth, sociolinguists must try for making sociolinguistics a ‘fit’ discipline to cope with current

sociolinguistic realities. The representation of language and identity demands courageous intervention and

resistance and not simply displacement for academic satisfaction. At the outset, the repertoire of resistance

calls for questioning. Where do the First and the Second orders contradict from the third order? We are at the

threshold of new destination. But one may still ask: Who/what is destination next?”

5. Conclusion

In the 21st century, the linguistic world is undergoing the most profound linguistic transformation in all

its millennium of the history. The grand moment has arrived to argue that with decline of the ‘west’ and rise

of the ‘alternative West’, the world has entered into a new linguistic era. The ‘New Linguistic World Order’

is on the move and there is more to it as the world is becoming liveable and laudable linguistically.

Interestingly, it is not only about freedom of choice, it is also about giving people time to do what they love

doing most with languages for communication, carrier and corridor (L - C,C, C). Under the banner of NLWO,

the 21st century is witnessing alternative linguistic breakthrough – the shifts seem to suggest that what was

once hailed as linguistic dominance of West on the rest may be over and the west is not suited to take on its

leadership responsibilities in the present era which enjoyed over the centuries. With the rise of new world

players from Asia and elsewhere, we must believe that alternative- West is what matters the most now for the

better future. Let us also hope that the NLWO finally finds right place in the western academia and no longer

remains as an ignored reality.

Hence, the arrival of NLWO sounds like the best meaningful idea and deserves accolades for bold

treatment of the subject away from the existing paradigm of sociolinguistics. The optimism for NLWO

inspires great hope for our own future and my hope through this paper is to contribute to this end. Can we

call for ‘Alternative Sociolinguistics’? Who knows: The answer is definitely yes.

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[19] Singh, S.K. Towards Branding Indian Linguistics: A Destination Next. In S. Imtiaz Hasnain and Shreesh

Choudhary (eds), Problematizing Language Studies: Cultural, Theoretical and Applied Perspectives (Essays in

honor of Rama Kant Agnihotri) . Aakar Books: New Delhi, 2010, P: 398-418.

[20] Singh, S.K. Linguistic Ecology of Manipur: New Linguistic World Order and Deep Multilingualism. In S.K Singh

(ed.), Linguistic Ecology: Manipur. Guwahati: Eastern Book House. 2011, pp: xiii-xxxv.

[21] Singh, S.K. Revisiting Linguistic Identity: Towards “Alternative Sociolinguistics”. In S. Imtiaz Hasnain, Sangeeta

Bagga-Gupta and Shailendra Mohan (eds.) Alternative Voices: (Re) searching Language, Culture, Identity. U.K.:

Cambridge Scholars Publishing. 2013.

[22] Stephens, P. Financial Times. London, 3 March, 2006. pp.13.

[23] The Times of India. New Delhi: 27th Nov, 2011.

[24] Wardhaugh, R. Languages in Competition: Dominance, Diversity and Decline. New York: Basil Blackwell, 1987.

[25] Zakaria, F. The post American World and the Rise of the Rest. New Delhi: Penguin Books, 2008.

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